Combined water bottle and brush holder



April 23, 1968 B. H. DOYLE COMBINED WATER BOTTLE AND BRUSH HOLDER 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 3, 1966 Z 223 67? '8 or BR|TTON H. DOYLE April23, 1968 B. H. DOYLE COMBINED WATER BOTTLE'AND BRUSH HOLDER 3Sheets-Sheet Filed May 6, 1966 i il zmv-ewfioi' BR\TTON H. DOYLE 3Sheets-Sheet April 23, 1968 B. H. DOYLE COMBINED WATER BOTTLE AND BRUSHHOLDER Filed May a, 1966 znwewzi'oy BQITTON H. DOYLE III, I [I I I I I II I United States Patent 3,379,172 COMBINED WATER BOTTLE AND BRUSHHOLDER Britten H. Doyie, Nashua, NIL, assignor to Nashua Corporation,Nashua, N.H., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 6, 1966, Ser. No.548,172 8 Claims. (Cl. 118267) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The inventionis a water supply means for gummed tape dispensers, in the form of awater bottle combined with a brush holding portion, the combinationbeing attachable to a tape dispensing apparatus. The water bottle has anupstanding hollow structure for holding a supply of water and ahorizontally extending brush holding portion connected thereto. Water isautomatically admitted to the brush holding section for wetting thebrush as need arises, the supply of water to the brush section beingautomatically cut-off when water has reached a given level in the brushholding section. An additional upstanding chamber is provided with ahole therein through which the combination water bottle and brush holdermay be conveniently filled with a supply of water without removing thebrush.

This invention relates to water supply means for tape dispensingapparatus, and in particular to such a water supply means in which thewater bottle and the water box for containing the brush of the tapedispensing apparatus are combined.

In the conventional tape dispensing apparatus, for example, the kindused in shipping rooms where lengths of tape are dispensed with theirgummed side moistened, the problem of maintaining a suflicient supply ofwater in the box that contains the moistening brush has not been toosatisfactory. In some instances, the box is relatively small and theWater supply thereof is exhausted fairly rapidly. In other instances,where the water box has been fastened into the tape dispensing apparatusitself, inadequate methods of filling the water box have been provided,and the operation of filling the box has been a time wasting procedure.In still further instances, supply bottles have been used which docontain a larger quantity of water, and these have been attached to themachine in a removable manner, so that they can be removed, then filled,and replaced on the machine. However, in these cases the bottle mayeither be broken; or, at the place where they are attached, leaks maydevelop which are messy. A further inconvenience has arisen in thoseinstances where the tape dispensing machine, as a whole, has needed tobe transported from one location to another. In many such cases, waterhas spilled out of its container, and consequently a clean-up job hasbeen required.

It is the general purpose of this invention to supply a combined waterbottle and brush box which is relatively simple to make, and easy touse, both for filling the bottle and for replacing it on the machinewhen filled; and one which minimizes any spilling of the water if thetape machine is moved from one spot to another.

Therefore, among the several objects of the invention may be noted theprovision of a combined water bottle and brush box for a tape dispensingmachine; the provision of means for providing a source of water supplyto a tape dispensing machine which is simple to manufacture and easy touse; the provision of means for providing a water supply to a tapedispensing machine, in which a water bottle and a brush for holding amoisten- 3,379,172 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 ice ing brush are combined;the provision of a combined water bottle and brush holder of the aboveclasses which is relatively impervious to fracture when subjected to thenormal handling encountered in the use of such a water supply means; theprovision of a combined water bottle and brush holder for a tapedispensing machine which is readily detach-able from the machine for thepurposes of filling it and cleaning and yet which is easily filled andreattached to the machine; and the provision of a water bottle of any ofthe above classes which at least minimizes, if it does not completelyeliminate, spilling of the water when the machine is moved. Otherobjects and advantages will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invent-ion accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which willbe exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of the various possibleembodiments of the invention is illustrated:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing the overall configuration of theembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 embodi- =ment, taken inthe direction of sight lines 33 thereon;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 embodimerit, taken in thedirection of sight lines 4-4 thereon;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a FIG. 1 embodiment,taken in the direction of sight lines 5'5 thereon;

'FIG. 6 is an end elevation, partly in section, illustrating the bottlewith a brush in place therein;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation, in section, of the bottle, taken in thedirection of sight lines 77 on FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an illustrative view of the brush shown in FIG. 6, given toillustrate certain elements of construc- 'tion thereof.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings, and in the drawings dimensions of certainof the parts may have been modified and/ or exaggerated for the purposesof clarity of illustration.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the combined water bottle and brush box of thisinvention comprises a hollow structure having a brush holding sectionillustrated generally by numeral 2 (the brush being omitted in thisdnawing) and a water containing compartment or bottle indicatedgenerally by numeral 4. Sections 2 and 4 are joined together to providea unitary hollow structure in which the interior of section 4 opens intothe interior of section 2. The structure is preferably made of syntheticmolded plastic of the kind having high impact strength such as nylon orone of the polypropylene group. If it is made of plastic, other plasticshaving the required characten istics of high impact strength, ease ofmolding, and dimensional stability may be used if desired.

Referring first to the box section 2, this comprises a generallyrectangular box having the side walls 6 and 10, a bottom 12, and the endwall 8. What otherwise would be the top is molded to have an opening 14which is adapted to receive the brush of the tape dispensing machine.The top of the box rises upwardly as indicated by numeral 16 and is metby upstanding portions 18 and 20 of the face walls 6 and 10, and an endwall 22 to close the box structure at this end. A hole 24 is provided inthe face 16 to be used for filling the bottle.

The bottle section 4 comprises an upstanding, generally fiat, hollowstructure having the side walls 26 and 28, the

3 bottom 34}, and top 32. End walls 34 and 36 are provided to form atotally enclosed structure which is molded as an integral whole with thewater box 2. The forward end 34 of water bottle 4 is open to the brushbox 2 as shown by numeral 38.

For ease in handling the entire structure, a hand grip is provided byproviding elongated apertures 40 and 42 in each of the Walls 26 and 28where indicated, the aligned edges of these apertures are being joinedby transversely extending partition 44 which is contiguous with theedges of the apertures, the ioint being airtight.

For rigidity and strength, another pair of apertures 46 and 48 areprovided in approximately a central portion of the bottle 4, the edgesof these apertures being joined by a transversely extending partitionmember 56 which is contiguous with the said edges, the joint beingairtight.

In order to give rigidity to the entire structure, particularly as tothe joint between the brush section 2 and the bottle 4, a generallydiagonally extending reinforcing structure indicated generally bynumeral 52 is provided,

this structure also being hollow and extending from the face 26 of thewater bottle to the face of the brush box section. Structure 52comprises the top and bottom faces 54 and 56, the side 58 and end 59,the side 53 being shown as having a bend therein, but could be straightif esired. The interior of structure 52 communicates with the brush box2, and also communicates with the water bottle 4.

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, there is shown the water bottle witha brush inserted in the brush section 2, the brush and the brush holdercooperating with the water bottle to produce the kind of water controlthat is desired.

As shown in P16. 8, the brush 62 (thus indicated gen erally) comprises abrush holder proper 64 and the brush 66 being held therein. Brush holder64 is a generally U- shaped sheet metal clip (although, if desired, itmay be made of suitable molded plastic) having the outstanding legs 68and 70. The upper edge of leg 68 is rolled over as shown to provide aninverted U-shaped section which snaps over the upper edge of the opening14 in the brush section. The upper edge of the leg 70 is first turneddown- Wardly as shown at numeral 74 and then is reversed on itself tocurl upwardly and forwardly as shown by numeral 76 to provide a shield,and also so that the brushes comprising the individual brush 66 will bein general forced in a direction toward the water bottle structure. Thebight 78 of the U-shaped frame is formed upwardly and inwardly in orderto provide two longitudinal pockets which are adapted to receive thebottom edges of the brushes which make up the total brush 66.

Brush 66 comprises two substantially flat brushes, each brush beingmaintained in conventional manner at the bottom ends of the brushfilaments by means of the clip, the bottom ends resting in the channelsformed between the upstanding inwardly turned bight 78 and thecorresponding face of the U-shaped frame. The top ends of the two brushsections meet.

By providing the channels in this way, the brushes are separated attheir bottom edges, with the result that water can flow readily downthis channel and wet the brushes uniformly and rapidly.

At the bottom of the U-shaped brush clip 64 there are provided outwardlybent portions 82 which are so dimensioned that when the clip is insertedin the box section 2, these portions will space the sides of the clipfrom the interior walls of said box section.

Extending longitudinally with and from the edge of clip side 68 is a tab84, this tab being approximately in length the same as the thickness ofthe bottle section 4.

In use, the total brush including clip is inserted in the opening at thetop of the box section 2 and pushed downwardly until the rolled. oversections 72 and 74 snap over the inwardly protruding edges of the boxsection. As this is done, it will be noticed that the tab 84 overliesthe bottom portion of the opening between the face 34 of the bottlesection and the box section. At the same time, it will be noticed thatthe clip as a whole lies close to the bottom of the box section, andthus there is a barrier provided lengthwise of the box section.

The purpose of thus providing this barrier is to prevent spilling ofwater. While this construction is not necessary, it will be foundadvantageous in view of the following: after the bottle has been filledand it is then positioned horizontally on the machine, it may be thatthe water contained therein will slosh back and forth. The result ofthis is that the water may tend to spill over the Opening of the top ofthe box section. By providing the tab 84 which overlies a portion of theopening between the bottle section and the box section, and having thebrush holder itself overly the opening between the reenforcing structure54 and the box section, both in the form of barriers but stillpermitting a controlled flow of water to the box section, any tendencyof the water to slosh back and forth and to spill out of the box sectionis greatly minimized.

It is essential, for proper operation, that all joints between thevarious parts be made airtight. This can readily be accomplished in themolding operation, and the various walls, ends and faces are preferablyintegrally molded to each other. The reason for this is that when thecombined box and bottle are filled with water, and the structure isturned into a generally horizontal position as shown in FIG. 1, waterwill tend to flow from the bottle 4 into the brush box 2 and then outthrough the opening 14. It would do this, except for the fact that as itdoes, a partial vacuum is created between the level of the water in thebottle 4 and top 32, this vacuum preventing outward flow of the water inthe container from the opening 14. However, in use, the brush which willbe inserted in the brush box 2 will gradually soak water up from the boxand apply it to tape as tape passes over the brush. As it does so, thelevel of water in box 2 is gradually decreased until an air opening iscreated when the water level falls below the junction of face 34 of thebottle with the wall 10 of the brush box. At this point, air will bepermitted to flow into the bottle to relieve the vacuum, and the waterwill again rise in the brush box 2 until this air opening is closed.

In order to use the device, it is removed from the machine, and with orwithout the brush being contained therein, it is filled by means of thehole 24. After this is done, the container as a whole may be safelyplaced in horizontal position back on the tape dispensing machine.

It is to be noticed that the bottom of the brush box 2 and the bottomface of the reinforcing structure 50 are co-planar, and thus there is asubstantially broad platform on which the total structure can rest.Also, if in a tape dispensing machine, a slot is provided into which thereinforcing structure 52 may slide smoothly but snugly, then this fiitwill tend to maintain the structure in place on the machine. For furtherassistance, in fastening the structure to a tape dispensing machine, astud may be applied on the machine, which is adapted to fit into theaperture 48-50. A simple catch on the outer end thereof will hold thecontainer against the side of the tape dispensing machine.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved. and other advantageous results attained.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and arrangement of partsillustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capableof other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in variousways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or ten minologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanyingdrawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense, and it is also intended that the appended claims cover all suchequivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having described the invention what is claimed is:

1. A combined water bottle and brush holder for a tape dispensingmachine, comprising a unitary hollow molded structure having a generallyupstanding bottle portion and a generally horizontal brush-receiving boxportion, the interior of the box portion connecting to the interior ofthe bottle portion by means of a passage way positioned below the top ofthe bottle portion, the box portion being provided with an Opening inits top adapted to receive a brush, and the bottle portion being anair-tight container entirely closed except for the opening provided bythe passage-way, whereby, when water in the box portion fills thepassage-way, air is prevented from flowing into the bottle portion, butair is permited so to flow when the water in the box portion is at suchlevel that the passage-way is at least partially open, and including anupstanding chamber at one end of the box portion, said chamber havingwalls which are continuations of walls of the box portion, one of saidwalls being provided with an opening above the top of the box portionfor filling the water bottle with fluid.

2. A combined water bottle and brush holder for a tape dispensingmachine, comprising a unitary hollow molded structure having a generallyupstanding bottle portion and a generally horizontal brush-receiving boxportion, the interior of the box portion connecting to the interior ofthe bottle portion by means of a passage-way positioned below the top ofthe bottle portion, the box portion being provided with an opening inits top adapted to receive a brush, and the bottle portion being anairtight container entirely closed except for the opening provided bythe passage-way, whereby, when water in the box portion fills thepassage-Way, air is prevented from flowing into the bottle portion, butair is permitted so to flow when the water in the box portion is at suchlevel that the passageway is at least partially open, said bottleportion being an elongated container having a generally flatconfiguration and having the top and bottom walls, end Walls, and sidewalls, said box portion being attached to one end wall adjacent thebottom wall, and said passage-way comprising an opening in said one endWall at the place of attachment, said side walls and end walls risingvertically when the box portion is horizontal.

3. The combined water bottle and brush holder of claim 2 in which saidbox portion is approximately at right angles to said side walls, and isattached to the bottle portion adjacent an end of the box portion.

4. The combined water bottle and brush holder of claim 3 including apair of aligned openings in said side walls, the edges of one of saidopenings being joined to the edges of the other of said openings by acontinuous loop of material integrally attached to the edges with anair-tight joint, said loop lying adjacent to, but below, said top wallwhereby said loop, in conjunction with adjacent portions of the sidewalls and a portion of the top wall, forms a handle for the structure.

5. The combined Water bottle and brush holder of claim 3 including areinforcing structure extending between the box portion and the bottleportion, said structure comprising a chamber enclosed by walls which areintegrally joined to adjacent walls of the box portion and bottleportion, said chamber lying below the top of the box portion and being acontinuation of said opening in said one end wall.

6. The combined Water bottle and brush holder of claim 3 including areinforcing structure extending between the box portion and the bottleportion, said structure comprising a chamber enclosed by walls which areintegrally joined to adjacent Walls of the box portion and bottleportion, said chamber lying below the top of the box portion and being acontinuation of said opening in said one end wall; and including a pairof aligned openings in said side Walls, the edges of one of saidopenings being joined to the edges of the other of said openings by acontinuous loop of material integrally attached to the edges with anair-tight joint, said loop lying adjacent to, but below, said top wallwhereby said loop, in conjunction with adjacent portions of the sideWalls and a portion of the top wall, forms a handle for the structure.

7. The combined water bottle and brush holder of claim 6 in which thebottle portion, box portion and the reinforcing structure togethercomprise a unitary onepiece structure molded of a shape-retainingsynthetic plastic, all connections between adjacent walls thereof beingintegral and air-tight.

8. A combined water bottle and brush holder, and a brush structuretherefor, for a tape dispensing machine, comprising a unitary hollowmolded structure having a generally upstanding bottle portion and agenerally horizontal brush-receiving box portion, the interior of thebox portion connecting to the interior of the bottle portion by means ofa passage-way positioned below the top of the bottle portion, the boxportion being provided with an opening in its top adapted to receive thebrush structure, and the bottle portion being an air-tight containerentirely closed except for the opening provided by the passage-way,whereby, when water in the box portion fills the passage-Way, air isprevented from flowing into the bottle portion, but air is permitted soto flow when the water in the box portion is at such level that thepassage-way is a least partially open; the brush structure comprising anelongated fiat brush, an sheet metal generally U-shaped elongated clipfor holding the brush in an upright position in the brush-receiving boxportion with the ends of the brush fibers projecting above the top ofthe said box portion, said clip having a tab extending laterally fromone end thereof adjacent the bottom, whereby, when said clip with itsbrush is fitted in place in said box portion, the tab and the bottomportion of the clip provide a partial closure for said passageway tominimize surging of fluid in the water bottle and said box portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 257,295 5/1882 Davis 118-267521,250 6/1894 Willits 118-267 1,726,089 8/ 1929 Uttz 118-264 1,864,2636/1932 Tharrington 120-59 2,188,962 2/1940 Sengbusch 120-59 2,431,57311/1947 Manley 120-59 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,249 5/ 1902 Great Britain.275,517 8/ 1927 Great Britain. 235,342 3/1945 Switzerland.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

